Changes By Time
by imamiraccle
Summary: Things would eventually change, with or without you knowing. As depressing as it seems to be, we all need to accept it. It's the reality and it sucks.


[ **Disclaimer **]

_'People change and friends leave. Life doesn't stop by for anyone.'_

Her name was Mikan Sakura. 16 years of living on earth, in Nagoya to be specific. She has these bright and 'beautiful -as people like to put it-' hazel orbs; Waist-long, silky brunette hair that has natural curls on the end. Pale skin that complements her rosy cheeks that has freckles on it. Also, she has these cool braces. Unlike some other girls, she loves having braces. It reminds her that a smile _can_ set everything straight. Like braces, it straightens your teeth. Weird huh?

They'd say she looked like her mom. But acts like her dad. Talk about mixed up genes.

Her life _is_ wonderful. Her mom and dad are always there for her. Even though her dad was in Tokyo, he would always make a way to contact them. Her life was perfect. Her grandpa loves her and would always make time to play with her, despite how old and weak he was. Her grades were good. She has friends who accepts her fully. Teachers praised her for her outstanding personality at school and everywhere she goes. Everything was perfect. Well, for now that is. She didn't want this perfect life to change. She wish it wouldn't end. But as they say'

"The only thing that doesn't change, is change." That's life.

Things would eventually change, with or without you knowing. As depressing as it seems to be, we all need to accept it. It's the reality and it sucks.

As she turned 13, things were starting to change. Their house -in Nagoya- wasn't as lively as it was before. And that's because her dearest grandfather died. With changes taking in. Nobody would water the plants every morning. Nobody would tell her stories. Nobody would side with her whenever she and her mom, or dad for that matter, would argue. Nobody would eat fluff puffs with her anymore. And she misses her grandpa. So much.

She still remembered his last words to her. Those words which she promises never to forget. Her grandpa was on his deathbed that time.

_". . . . . Mikan-chan?" _

_"Grand-pa . . ." Mikan reached for his hand and held it tightly but carefully._

_"Stop crying young one." He said softly. _

_"I can't help it grandpa. You're leaving-" She cried, "__**forever.**__" _

_The old man chuckled lightly, "I'm not leaving, dear." _

_Mikan shot her head up with a confused expression; "What do you mean?" _

_The old man turned his gaze to the white ceiling and smiled faintly."You may not see me anymore but I will always be with you." He turned back to his crying granddaughter, then reached and pointed at her heart; "I will always be there."_

_"Grandpa . . ." Mikan was speechless for a moment. Her grandpa caressed her flawless face and said, "Mikan, before I die, I want to see you smile. A real smile." _

_"Grandpa, I just want to tell you, I love you and will always cherish every moment I had with you." And there, from that moment, she smiled. A real, bright smile._

_"Thank you, Mikan." And his eyes closed, his breathing stopped and his hand which was once caressing Mikan's face dropped lifelessly on the bed. Then Mikan cried. A lot._

It was a lot to take in for the Sakura family. Old man was really a great person and he was sure hard to forget. The family was really saddened by the news. Specially a certain brunette. Who he loved wholeheartedly.

But even though the situation is like this, we still need to move on and go on with our lives. People change and friends leave. Life doesn't stop by for anyone. We must learn to live with it. Accept it. Even though it hurts so much, we must.

* * *

So today is Mikan's first day of school in Gakuen Alice. She didn't really liked the thought of her going to a new school. And to her, new school means new classmates, new teachers, new problems and everything new.

She was clad in an off-shoulder, long-sleeved neon orange blouse. Denim cerulean shorts and pairing it with neon orange vans. And yes, Cerulean and Neon orange are her favorite colors. She tied her hair in a low pony tail, with some of her hair strands framing her beautiful face. She looked at the mirror and smiled at her own reflection. _'I'm good to go.'_ She said to herself. She grabbed her bag and left for school.

Mikan stood nervously outside their classroom door. She could hear Jinno-Sensei, their homeroom teacher, discussing something about geometry or whatsoever. She was expecting the girlish and bubbly man to be their homeroom teacher. I think his name was Narumi? Well, whoever he was, Mikan sure did took a liking on him.

She took a long breath and crossed her fingers behind her back. _'Wish me luck' _she thought. Really, she need that. She slowly opened the door, trying her best not to attract too much attention. But failed. The door creaked loudly. All eyes set on the brunette. Mikan gulped as she met Jinno-Sensei's grey orbs, looking intently at her. He had wrinkles on his old scowling face. He was wearing those dull glasses matching it with dull grey suit.

"What a nice way to start first day of school." He commented sarcastically.

"I-I'm sorry Sir. " Mikan stuttered as she bowed apologetically at him. Her face was as red as a tomato. He sighed. Mikan straightened up her body and there, she saw him, rubbing his temples. _'I bet his going to send me to detention.' _ the brunette thought.

Oh boy, first impression? Bad.

"Introduce yourself to the class." He told her as he made his way to his chair and sat. Mikan stared blankly at him, like he's some kind of a weird specie. Jinno-Sensei, who happened to notice her awkward stare also stared back. Menacingly.

After a few seconds passed, he snapped his fingers; Mikan blinked a couple of times.

"I said, Introduce yourself. Quit staring at me and do what I told you to do so."

'_How arrogant can he possibly be?! Seriously? Me, staring at an old, unattractive, dull, grumpy old man? Over my dead body!_' Mikan thought as she shivered at the idea of her staring at her Sensei. Not to mention his freakin' old.

"I wasn't -" She was about to defend herself but, Jinno-Sensei rudely interrupted her. "Just introduce yourself. You have wasted enough of my time, Ms. Sakura."; Mikan puffed her rosy cheeks then stood up in front of the class. She first examined the whole class before politely introduced herself.

"Hi, I'm Mikan Sakura. 16 years old, Half Japanese and half Californian. Doesn't like math and I'm allergic to love. Nice to meet you too!"

"Any questions class? I mean, regarding Ms. Sakura?" Jinno-Sensei asked as he glanced at Mikan. The class didn't say a word, they all just looked at our very own brunette boringly. Someone even threw a crumpled paper at her for heaven's sake! Is that how they welcome a newcomer?

"Well, how rude." Mikan murmured to herself. She made her way to an, unoccupied seat beside the window.

'_The people back at my school in Nagoya, they welcome newcomers nicely. Not like here in Tokyo! Things are really different here_.' She gazed outside the window. The leaves were beginning to fall from the branches. Autumn is surely approaching fast.

**Mikan's POV**

I remembered the time, when dad broke the news to me; It happened two months ago. It was a gloomy Saturday evening when suddenly the phone rang. My mom answered it directly, like she was expecting it. "Hello, Yuka at your service!" mom said sweetly. She can be childish sometimes. A manly chuckle was heard on the other line. I raised one perfect eyebrow of mine. Mom was talking to guy? As if sensing my suspicion, mom directly mouthed 'dad', oh so she's talking to dad? I see no problem in that.

So I gathered all of my stuffs then stood up from the couch and marched towards my room. I was about to open my bedroom door, when mom called me back. "Honey! Your dad wants to talk to you!"

I grunted in annoyance. "Now?" I replied loudly so mom could hear me. "Yes dear! Like now. ASAP!" She said. Leaving with no choice, I left my stuffs on the floor and went back down stairs.

"Here" mom handed me the phone. I took it and dad spoke "So how's my beautiful Mikan?". Something was up. I knew it by the tone dad was using. He was nervous perhaps?

"What's wrong dad?" I said straight forwardly. I heard my dad sigh on the other line. "Me and your mom have talked and we've decided that you two will be moving here in Tokyo."

Well, that was fast. Silence followed in. "W-why?" I manage to speak. There were so many emotions floating in me right now. Shocked, confused, happy and sad in the same time.

"Why dad?" I repeated, "Hey, don't take this the wrong way. It's not like I don't want to be with you. Trust me, I really miss you." I added. He chuckled softly. "You see dear, Our house here, it's too big for one person to live in! And I really miss you and your mom! Our life here would be so much better! The schools here are wonderful. The neighborhood, their nice. Plus your mom's clients can increase in here!"

Judging from dad's tone, I could say he's desperate. I thought about it for a moment. Why not give it a try? It's been a while since I saw dad and go stargazing with him. "So when are we leaving?" I said and I can imagine daddy smiling brightly right now. Mom hugged me from behind, I smiled. I feel so proud and mature right now. So yeah, since the-

Suddenly, my train of thoughts were disturbed by the person in front of me, who I actually didn't notice. "Hello? Yoo-hoo? You there?" I blinked a thousand times and tore my gaze off the window and looked around the room. Class has ended? Then at the person in front of me.

She has this shoulder-length, pink curly hair and her eyes were in a pretty shade of blue. She's wearing a pink shirt that says 'Think Pink' , floral pink skirt and gladiator sandals. Her skin was tanned perfectly. She smiled at me. "I'm Anna Umenomiya!" she introduced.

**End Of Mikan's POV**

"H-hi, I'm Mikan Sakura."

Anna giggled sweetly at Mikan, "Why are you laughing?" the brunette asked innocently.

"She's not laughing idiot. She's just giggling." A cold voice that sent shivers down Mikan's spine spoke. She turned around and met cold violet orbs. She frowned.

"Hotaru! Don't be mean to her, okay? She's still new, yah know." Anna pouted at the violet eyed girl.

"I'm not being mean to her. I was just trying to help her see the difference between 'Laughing' and 'Giggling'." Hotaru explained. She was clad in a purple blouse and purple pants, matching it with bright yellow vans. Bob style hair and was pure black. Her skin was pale. Just like Mikan's. But paler.

"They don't differ at all!" Mikan exclaimed.

"Yes, they do. In fact, I could define them to yo-"

"Okay! Stop this nonsense argument you two! I am starving. So you guys are going to accompany me to the cafeteria, ASAP!" Anna declared then dragged Mikan and Hotaru to the cafeteria. When they arrived there, the place was packed with people they don't even know.

"Wow, this place is huge!" Mikan exclaimed, childishly. '_Our cafeteria back in Nagoya was big and all but this one is a whole lot bigger!_'

"Obviously it is. It's an Academy idiot. What do you expect?" Hotaru emotionlessly snapped at the brunette, who in return glared daggers at her. But as always Hotaru ignored her. Purple-eyed girl really is an ice queen.

OMG!" Anna unexpectedly squealed. Mikan raised an eyebrow at her and Hotaru did the same thing. Anna was now fanning herself and was literally jumping up and down; She's acting like a fan girl who just saw Cody Simpson play his acoustic guitar then goes winking at her. Man, that'd be so cool.

"Natsume is here!" Anna announced.

"Who the heck is Natsume?!" Mikan exclaimed.

Anna stared at Mikan completely shocked. She gasped. "You" she started as she pointed at her "Don't know who Natsume is?!" She said like it's the most important thing in the world!

"Nope." The brunette answered coolly.

Anna did the 'facepalm' thing then said "Natsume is h-him!" She pointed at a guy wearing a red v-neck shirt, black jeans and red vans. And oh, don't forget those cool aviator shades he's wearing.

"What about him?" Mikan said, acting as if she's not interested. Even though she was. Just a little bit though.

"Natsume Hyuuga. 16 years old. Well-built body; He's muscular but his body isn't big. Just normal and thin, perhaps. Messy raven hair, tantalizing crimson eyes, perfect nose, pale skin and has an IQ that would surpass Albert Einstein's. The most famous guy that ever set foot on this school. Has thousands of fan girls all over the world. But he never had a girlfriend ever before. Well there were rumours of him having one, but were proven wrong." Hotaru nonchalantly said so. Leaving Mikan speechless for a while.

She stared at Hotaru in disbelief. '_Is she a fan girl in disguise?_ ' She dreaded the thought. As if Hotaru read her mind, she looked at the brunette emotionlessly and said "No, I am not a fan girl. Hotaru Imai does not go gaga over some useless idiots. "

"Hotaru!" Someone suddenly called out. Hotaru ignored it. Then called her again, and again, and again. "Hota-chan, somebody is calling you." Anna told her. She rolled her eyes and said "Ignore her. She's just another annoying idiot."

"Who are you calling an idiot?" A girly prideful voice said from behind. Mikan, Hotaru and Anna simultaneously turned around and saw this beautiful girl standing with both hands on her hips. Her eyes were in a pretty shade of green. Her shoulder-length, hair was black. She was wearing a green sundress with floral designs on it. A 3-inch high heels for her foot wear.

"Obviously you, Ms. Sumire Shouda." Hotaru replied boringly.

"How mean." The green eyed girl, named Sumire said. Mikan and Anna sweatdropped at the scene in front of them. "Does she really talk like that?" Mikan whispered to Anna unbelievably who chuckled a bit before nodding. She told Mikan, "After days, you'll get used to it." Then they heard my stomach grumble. They both blushed madly. Did anybody heard that? Well, I guess Hotaru did.

"We have to go." Hotaru said, dragging Mikan and Anna towards a food stall named 'Fast Foods'. How cliché. They took their burgers and searched for some empty tables. They found none.

"Found no tables?"Sumire, who appeared from nowhere, said, with the same girly tone she used a while ago.

"None of your business." Hotaru snapped back.

"Apparently, as your friend, it is." Sumire said in a 'matter-of-fact' tone.

Hotaru menacingly looked at her as if examining her from head to toe. "Well, you _used_ to be."

"Geez! Get a grip Hota-chan! That was like 2 years ago. And yet you still haven't forgot about it!" Sumire whined in reply.

"So what if I haven't?." Hotaru questioned.

"Then, forget about it! Easy-peasy!" Sumire replied as she rubbed her temples. Mikan and Anna were only looking at them as they had their little 'reunion'.

"Um, Hotaru?" Mikan said. '_I hope she's not as pissed as she looked right now_.' She thought. Hotaru then looked at her, with her eyebrows narrowed. "What?" She said.

Mikan coughed a bit. Nervousness eating her up. M_an, _'_I haven't felt this nervous ever before. I can now declare that Hotaru has this way on making people nervous. Like really._'

"Where are we going to sit?" Mikan asked with her head titled a bit.

"How abou-" Hotaru didn't had a chance to finish up her sentence because green-eyed girl butted in. How annoying. "You guys can sit with us." Sumire suggested.

"With you?" Anna asked. Obviously.

"No, no, no with her. Yeah, with us! Duh! That's what I just said right? So come on!" Sumire then dragged Anna towards their table, with Mikan and Hotaru tailing behind. They were left with no choice. Its either sit with them, or they will be sitting beside the trashcans.

They stopped at a table placed in the middle of the cafeteria. There were three good-looking dudes seated. The two of them were like about their age and the other one was a bit younger than them.

The three guys looked at them, at the same time. This guy, with this luscious raven hair and aviator shades on, stared at Mikan from head to toe. Guessing he's Natsume? Mikan raised an eyebrow at him. He did the same thing. She narrowed her eyes at him then said, "What are you looking at?"

"What?" He said nonchalantly. The others; And by 'others' I meant Hotaru, Anna, Sumire and the two other guys were busy talking to each other, that they didn't really noticed Mikan's little conversation with annoying-cool dude.

"What were you looking at?" She repeated getting a little bit pissed. She doesn't really like people who stares at her. It makes her feel uneasy. Its like they're examining you at first then before you know it, they'll kidnap you and take you to 'who-knows-where'.

He took off his aviator shades, revealing his bloody crimson eyes. "I beg your pardon?" He said smoothly then smirked at her. She blushed a bit but whatever that doesn't matter!

"Are you deaf or something?" Mikan asked loudly. The gang then looked at heer and, who was that again? Natsume? Right.

"What's wrong Mikan?" Anna asked her. Concern visible on her pretty face.

Mikan looked at her then shook her head before sitting down beside Hotaru, who was already devouring her cheese burger peacefully.

"Hi there newbie! I'm Koko Yome. Nice to meet you!" One of the guys who was seated next to Natsume, suddenly introduced himself to Mikan. His hair was in a cool shade of dirty blonde, and his eyes were grey. He's wearing a yellow polo shirt, checkered cargo shorts and yellow Nike shoes to finish it up.

Mikan nodded. Ignoring the word 'newbie' he just called her. Its true anyway. Then the other guy, who was seating next to him also looked intently at her. Why you ask? I don't know. He has these beautiful cerulean orbs. His hair was in a light shade of silver. Wearing brown pants, plain white shirt and red vans.

"I'm done." Hotaru announced. The brunette looked at her before saying "Already?" She nodded, then left. Just like that.

Mikan pouted like a kid. With her cheeks flustered without a doubt.

"Eww! You have freckles on your cheeks!" Sumire exclaimed. '_Seriously? She doesn't need to shout!_ ' But Mikan smiled anyway. "And also braces!" She continued, like it's the most disgusting thing in the world. Gosh, she's such a bimbo!

"So? What about it?" Mikan asked, trying to defend herself.

"That's gross!" She said. Ouch, that hurts. Mikan glared icily at her. '_How dare she criticize me?!_'

"I think she looks cute!" Anna said. Upon hearing this, Mikan flushed a million-dollar smile at her.

Then unexpectedly, silver-haired dude said something which really, and I mean REALLY made her blush madly. He said "I think she looks gorgeous." And all of Mikan's insides went boom!

Anna giggled and asked "Youichi-kun, do you have a crush on Mikan-chan?". So Youichi is his name. He blushed.

"Anna Umenomiya! You have no right to ask The Great Youichi Hijiri such things! Don't you think you're intruding his privacy?" Sumire scolded.

"I-It's okay Sumire. It's no big deal." Youichi said.

Natsume look, more like glare, at Youichi for a while then he stood up. "You guys better go back. Classes are going to start any minute now." He told them. And by just hearing his manly voice, butterflies filled Mikan's tummy. What's the meaning of this?


End file.
